From Armenia in brief: Russia to provide $10 million for safety upgrade of Armenia's nuclear power plant

Published: Sunday September 14, 2008

Russia has officially forwarded its proposal to the Armenian government to grant $10 million for the safety upgrade of the second power unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant (NPP). Armenia's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan told journalists that the funds will be transferred by the end of the year and the upgrade will be conducted in 2009. According to Arminfo, the minister said that this was discussed at the third working meeting in Yerevan to coordinate international assistance for the NPP's safety upgrade. Since 2006, when IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei offered his organization's readiness to coordinate technical assistance to Armenia's NPP on its safety upgrade, annual meetings have been held.

When the plant's second power unit was restarted, the NPP received a total of $90 million from donors for its safety upgrade. The minister said that just over half of those funds ($50 to 55 million) were provided by the United States, and the rest by EU countries.

The first unit of the nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1976 and the second one in 1980. The plant was shut down in the beginning of 1989 for political reasons.  It was only in 1995 that the second unite was restarted.